Dog eats its own tail to survive

UPDATED 2:18 PM CST Jan 28, 2013

MASON CITY, Iowa -

A dog left alone in a kennel inside a rental property ate half her tail to survive, KIMT-TV reported.

North Iowa Humane Society workers said Goldie was rescued after being left alone for three weeks. Goldie was one of eight dogs found in the Forest City property earlier this month, the Mason City Globe Gazette newspaper reported.

Workers told KIMT that the golden retriever was in bad shape when she showed up at the shelter.

Executive Director Sybil Soukup told KIMT that "Goldie showed up at 46 pounds, which is 20 pounds under weight of a normal golden retriever weight. You could see her rib cage underneath her skin. Her coat condition was in very bad shape. She was suffering from severe dehydration and starvation.”

Since being rescued, Goldie has regained six pounds.

Humane Society of North Iowa Executive Director Sybil Soukup said Monday that Goldie's story has gone international with adoption offers from as far away as Sydney, Australia.

The dog's story has been shared coast-to-coast in newspapers, on radio stations and news websites. People from across the country have also made donations through Paypal to the shelter.

Dozens of adoption offers have been received and will be reviewed by the shelter manager at the end of the week.